The three wise monkeys
by DreamerJMLH
Summary: A case, six dead bodies, an old statue with a hidden meaning and a huge secret Reid wants to keep from his team... Reid/OC
1. Chapter 1

This is as case-fic but also has a lot of Reid centred things in it as well. I've never written a Criminal Minds fanfiction before so I really hope you like it. And I do know, that Emily isn´t in the TV-show anymore, but since I´m not from an English speaking country I haven´t seen the new episodes and decided just to keep her. So, hope you like it and I really wanted to thank all of my readers and especially two friends of mine which are actually both called Sarah XD , for helping me to bring up those ideas for the story and reviews would be wonderful

Xoxo

Ps.: Criminal minds doesn´t belong to me, all rights go to the owners of the show.

* * *

The whole BAU-Team, except for their youngest member Spencer Reid, was gathered in the conference room. Their latest case just came in, but it was more than weird that Reid was late, normally; he was the first one in and that, of course worried all of the team-members. They had already started to discuss the case, when Reid barged in, looking … actually looking sick. He was paler than normally, had deep dark rings under his eyes and seemed to be really stressed out.

Worried glances were sent at him when he appeared, but Reid didn´t bother to explain, why he looked that way and neither, why he was unpunctually. Hotch kept his glance at him until he started speaking.

"I´m sorry I´m late" was all they got from him before he took a seat and looked straight at Garcia, who greeted him with a warming smile before continuing.

"No damage done my boy genius, we´ve just started" she pressed the button of the remote and immediately six faces appeared on the screen.

"Ok we have six dead bodies in two weeks; all found in in San Francisco … Lexi Tompkins, Ashley Mason, Caroline Green, Olivia Branson, Alexia Richardson and Maria Kenton. Tompkins, Mason and Green were reported missing two weeks ago and found 7 days later. At the same day those bodies were found, Branson, Richardson and Kenton were reported missing and again found exactly one week later."

"3 woman a day, that's a lot … what about the killing?" Morgan asked.

"Well, that´s the part where it gets creepy … They were all found at the same place and always one woman had her eyes … ahem blinded, one´s mouth was burned with acid and one´s ears were cut off. That was done to them, when they were still alive and the actual cause of that was a shot in their head…"

"So they were all kidnapped and killed at the same time … Where did they find the bodies" JJ threw in as a question.

"They were all found in the same park, but not at the same place" the Tech-Analyst explained.

"He has to be really organized if he´s able to kidnap three woman a day; I don´t think that those killings were unplanned. But why does he take them to a park. There are many other ways to hide dead bodies, he´s going a risky way…" Rossi explained.

"He´s taking away their ability to hear, talk and see, that has to have a meaning to him" Morgan continued before Hotch stated "Ok wheels up in 30 San Francisco is a long way, we´ll continue the briefing on the jet" and everyone left. But they all noticed that Reid hadn´t lost a word during the briefing, not even rambled one of his beloved facts.

Morgan couldn´t help himself but to wonder what has happened. Reid was never quiet and he was never late so he thought it might was the time for a little chat. While everyone went out to get their go-bags for the jet he took his young colleague aside.

"Hey kid, is everything alright, you were late and didn´t lose a word in there, what´s going on?"

"Nothing Morgan, really I just slept in and …" Morgan laid his hand onto Reid´s shoulder and looked at him even more concerned.

"Pretty boy you do know you can tell me everything. Look, you seem to be completely stressed out, so what …" but he was interrupted by an outburst from Reid…

"Just leave me alone, nothing has happened alright…" and with that he turned around and left. Morgan looked stunned after his young friend. Why would he behave that way … he never yelled, especially at him. Now he was more worried than before and decided to leave it like that and ask him again when they were alone.

When everyone was together in the jet, the briefing continued. The whole team was gathered on the plane when Garcia´s face appeared on the laptop.

"So my friends, I´ve already checked their background and they had nothing to do with each other. They were all from different sociality's, were living in different areas and had different jobs. Sarah Tompkins and Ashley Mason were both married, Caroline Green and Olivia Branson had a boyfriend and Alexia Richardson and Maria Kenton were both single except for … oh … Maria Kenton was a single mother of a two year old boy…"

"So he most probably doesn´t know his victims, he just chooses them after their looks?"

"You´re probably right Emily, every woman had brown hair, JJ stated, but the thing with the eyes, noses and ears, that remembers me of something …"

"The three wise monkeys …" Reid mumbled absently.

"You mean that statue with the apes?" Rossi asked.

"Yeah, that statue comes from Japan and is called the three wise apes. You´ve probably seen it before three monkeys, one has his hands over his mouth, one over his ears and one over his eyes. It means see no evil, say no evil and hear no evil. They stand for beeing of good mind, action and speech ..."

Everyone was kind of relieved that Reid had decided to talk again, but they knew too that something was wrong. All of them had heard that Reid has been yelling at Morgan and noticed, that he kept glancing at his phone, even though he tried to hide it. Because of the argument he and Reid had had earlier, Morgan had decided to give him some space and leave him alone … at least for a while.

"So maybe this UnSub wants control of those women. Maybe they had done something he thought he had to punish them for" JJ threw in.

"My lovelies I´ve checked theses women´s background and I´ve got to tell you … I found nothing. No crimes in their youth, no uncommon things at all really nothing…"

"But baby girl have you checked if they had had anything in common like…"

"Derek as much as I love you would you please stop interrupting I haven´t finished my speech yet … I´ll promise you I´ll dig in the dirt to find out anything that could have made them…

Suddenly, they were interrupted by Reid´s phone. He abruptly stood up and walked towards the rest room so that none would hear them.

"Hey what is wrong with Reid, guys?" Emily asked.

"I´ve no idea at all but there´s definitely something I mean … the way he behaved today, the glancing at his phone and he yelled at me earlier when I asked him about it" Morgan told his team.

"You know, maybe…" JJ started, but stopped immediately when he came back. Even though it was hard for them to think it was possible, he looked worse than before … he actually looked, wrecked.

"Reid, is everything alright?" Hotch asked the young genius. He just nodded, still staring at the floor, not daring to look at them. Everyone noticed the tension but they decided to keep it that way, even though every single one of them wanted to talk to him later.

"Ok guys … ahem … I´ll go back searching ... ok" Garcia said and the screen went black, before the jet touched the ground.

"Well, here we go; Morgan thought, we are in San Francisco and have to find a murderer that kills three women a day and on the other hand, we have to figure out what´s wrong with the kid. Well, let´s see what other surprises this trip will bring to us…" But he had no idea, how many were already waiting for them.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi guys :)

Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews really they mean so much to me. I have an idea where I want the story to go so I hope you keep reading and reviews are more than welcomed. I´ve written this chapter in one of the victim's pov as well as one in Reid´s pov.

Xoxo

* * *

As soon as the jet touched the ground, Hotch split the team up so that he and Rossi headed to the local police station, Emily and Morgan had to interview the families of the victims and Reid and JJ had to visit the park in which the women were found.

While the others took a cap from the airport, Reid and JJ decided to walk to the park which wasn´t really far away. Actually, JJ asked if her young colleague wanted to walk or drive, but she didn´t get an answer so she took that as a yes. She thought she might be able to get some sense into the weird behaviour of her friend.

She waited for a couple of minutes, just walking in silence, eyeing Reid suspicious. He hadn´t said a single word since the phone call he got and kept staring at the floor, what started to worry JJ even more. Any time, she couldn´t keep the silence up.

"So, do you think the victims have a connection?" but the answer she got was nothing more than a mumble.

"Or, maybe they even knew each other…?"… mumbling followed again before she couldn´t take it anymore.

"Ok, Spence, you know you´re a part of my family and you´re my friend. You can tell me everything alright … obviously, there´s something wrong with you and me, plus the whole team … we worry about you and we just want to help you…"

"JJ it´s nothing…" he mumbled absently.

"No, Spence, there´s someth…"

"Could you all just leave me alone, is that too much to ask for?!"

"Spence … I just…"

Reid went with his hands through his hair, sighting and closing his eyes before continuing.

"Can we please just go to the crime scene?"

JJ nodded, doing a bad job hiding her disappointment about him not telling and scolding her. They turned around before arriving at the park where multiple police officers and analysts were already examining the crime scene. But what they found didn´t exactly help them in their investigation, so they had to wait for the forensic reports.

While in the park, Reid didn´t lose more than three words, no rambling, no statistics, no facts. After a couple hours, JJ decided it would be time to head back to the police station. Meanwhile, it was already dark outside and the rest of the team has gotten back as well.

"Well, JJ started, the crime scene didn´t give away much. This killer is really organised, there are no fingerprints, no weapons or any other evidences…"

"Well, the interviews with the families, weren´t better. There´s not a single connection between the victims of which they knew. It seems like they really have nothing else in common than their looks…" Emily explained.

"The police officers told us, that there was a homeless man who thought he had seen someone carrying a large bag and after setting one down, getting two others. That could be our Un-Sub…" Rossi stated.

"So, we´ve at least got something right, I mean there´s a witness. Has he seen something else?" Morgan asked Hotch.

"Well, that´s the problem … he said that it was too dark to make anything out. But we can pretty sure say our Un-Sub´s man."

"You know, there´s one thing … Morgan continued before yawning loudly … Garcia read through the forensic reports and said that the victims were shot right after he cut her ears and ... you know. That could show that he actually feels guilt and …"but they were again interrupted by a yawn.

"Ok, let´s eat something and then head to the hotel, we have to get up pretty early tomorrow so…" Hotch stated.

"Well, I´m definitely in for pizza." Morgan said and everyone agreed, well except for Reid.

"You know what, I´m going to my room I … well I´m not feeling well … I guess good night." And with that he turned around and left. Everyone shook his head, not able to figure him out. They went to the nearest restaurant for pizza and while sitting at the table, none could help but to talk about Reid´s behaviour.

"Guys, there´s something seriously wrong with the kid"

"You know, when we went to the park, I asked him again, what was wrong and he told me and I quote 'Could you all just leave me alone, is that too much to ask for'. I was actually shocked but decided to leave him alone. He didn´t say a single world while we were in the park. That´s more than weird but also the way he looks and his behaviour is so unlike for him."

"Do you think it could have something to do with his mother?" Rossi asked.

"No, I don´t think so. He definitely would have taken the first flight to Vegas if there was something wrong."

"But it´s neither helping him, nor us, nor our work if he keeps acting that way. Maybe I should try talking to him. We still have a killer running around here and I actually think he could already be working on getting his next victims…"

* * *

Victims pov.

"Where am I, what am I doing here, why is my whole body hurting …" multiple questions were running through my head while I was trying to open my eyes. All I saw was a blur, but it was slowly getting clearer.

When I tried to move my arms, I realized I´ve been tied up, my legs the same. Where the hell was I? I started to panic, the room wasn´t well lit up, I could only make out so little.I turned my head to the right and what I saw made my blood freeze.

There were two women, both tied up just like me but the difference was … both were blood covered and obviously not breathing. What the hell was happening … I did the only thing I could think of, I started screaming as loud as I could, trying to free my arms and legs.

Suddenly a figure appeared in front of me, holding something that seemed like … a knife.

"Stop screaming, you know that what you did was wrong and you have to pay for that…"

"I haven´t done anyth…" I felt a pain at the side of my head, it was so much more pain that I´ve ever felt before, and again … at the other side of my head. I knew, I was passing out. "I´m sorry … but you deserved it" I heard him say before the shot fell.

Why me, why me…

* * *

Reid´s pov

"Why me, why her, why us…" Was all I could think of. It shouldn´t have happened, I promised that nothing would hurt her again… that he wouldn´t hurt her again.

I couldn´t tell my team, could I? I´ve been hiding it all for more than two years. I´ve been so happy with her, why did it have to change?

I should have been there for her, protect her … why her?


	3. Chapter 3

Hi guys :)

Well, I first want to thank you, you are so supportive really thanks. I guess I´ll spill the secret in the next of maybe in the fourth chapter, but the story won´t be over then. I´m sorry for my slow updates but I had school until today, but now my winter break finally started yeii :) Anyway, reviews would be great and I hope you like it oh and Merry Christmas :)

xoxo

* * *

The wake-up knock at their doors came far too early for everyone. Around six o´clock in the morning, Hotch was telling all of his agents to get up. A jogger reported, that in the same park, in which the other six bodies were found, were three new dead bodies. As always, they were young, had brown hair and couldn´t have been more different about their life, so again no connection.

Hotch had already informed all of his agents, except for Reid. He was determined to find out what was going on. The way he behaved, not just made him worry about his skills to work, as many might have thought. He was just as concerned as the other agents of his team to find out, what made their youngest one so depressed and wrecked.

They all knew something was up and also knew about the way, Reid always thought he had to handle problems, on his own. They all knew, that it came from not having an actual childhood and always being left alone to deal with problems. But he wasn´t anymore, he had the team, his friends … his family.

The Team leader had just arrived at the corner of the floor to Reid´s room as he heard his voice, most likely talking on the phone.

"I know … I know but I have to know how she is…"

Hotch immediately stopped in his way thinking about to either listen or to turn around but he needed the agent for their investigation so he decided to keep walking.

"Yes of course I know about her state … yes I know what you told me last week and I still won´t give up my hope but we have to find him it´s not … yes of course … but what if he hurts her again, we still don´t know where he is … no, no I can´t tell them, I mean they are my family but I´ve hidden it far too long and I don´t want them in danger too …"

Hotch listened closely, knowing just too well it was inappropriate but he didn´t even realize he had stopped in his track.

Who was Reid protecting … who was he chasing … who was he even talking to? Who was her …? All of those questions floated through his head before he regained and walked around the corner, clapping his shoes on the floor as loud as he could so that his colleague would hear him.

He saw Reid pacing around on the floor in front of his room, his phone at his ear. It was pretty obvious that he hadn´t had any sleep. The rings under his eyes were even deeper than the day before. As he realized, that Hotch had appeared, his eyes went wide and he quickly snapped his phone shut.

"Reid … they found three other bodies, we need to go to the park." Hotch stated.

"Ok … I´m just gonna get my bag … I´ll be at the lobby in five minutes …" he replied while sighting and going with his hand through his hair.

"Alright …" Just as Reid was turning around to leave Hotch stopped him. "Listen Reid, I actually have to talk to you. I know, you mostly keep your personal life to yourself and that´s alright, but it´s pretty obvious that you have a problem and you don´t have to deal with it alone…"

Reid wanted to response, already opening his mouth as if to say something against Hotch´s statement but closed it as his boss continued.

"No Reid, you´re not going to give me the same treatment you gave Morgan and JJ! All we want is to help you and if you are so against that and you think you have to solve it on your own that´s alright, it´s your life after all. But don´t treat the others like they want to harm you, they want to help you, that´s all. You aren´t yourself and I actually don´t know why and it´s neither helping our work, nor anyone else and at least yourself if you continue this way."

"Hotch it´s just …" Reid sighted but was again interrupted.

"No Reid, we can help you with whatever you are fighting against but don´t be so stubborn to push the people that care about you away. I want to see you downstairs in five" and with that he turned around and left the young agent behind.

Hotch knew, that he was hard on him but he had to. If he wanted to talk, everyone on the team would be just too happy to help him. But the way he treaded his colleagues wasn´t appropriate and after all, they were like a family. Some people only let others help them if they were confronted and Reid was defiantly one of them.

As he arrived in the lobby, everyone except for Reid was already waiting.

"Have you talked to him?" Rossi asked.

"Yes. I heard him on the phone and I know it wasn´t my place but I didn´t intend to listen. He has someone in danger and I heard that he doesn´t want ´them´, I guess he means us, to get into danger too."

"But why doesn´t he just tell us. We´re a team of profilers for heaven´s sake … If someone he loves could be hurt, we were the first to be there for him." Morgan sighted.

"I don´t know what to do, he always keeps everything to himself, though he could at least try to let us in…" Emily threw in.

"I´m letting him some time to think… I just hope he finds the strength to talk to us."

Just as Hotch finished his sentence, Reid came downstairs, though he seemed deep in his thoughts. Hotch commanded Rossi and Emily, to visit the new crime scene with him while the others were supposed to talk to the police.

While Morgan called Garcia to get the information about their newest victims, Emily and Reid were looking at the other dead women´s background. About an hour later, the rest of the team arrived and they set the laptop up at the table, so that everyone was able to see Garcia.

"Alright my lovelies, although it´s far too early and I need my beauty sleep, you are going to love me for finding out this newest piece of information. And it´s so much better than any gossip on this planet. All of our victims were alcoholics…"

"That could be the reason behind the killings. The Unsubs most probably killed those women because of their addiction."

"Baby Girl, how did you find that out?"

"Well sweetheart, I´m simply the best … Well, there are a lot of self-help groups that are anonymous for people with this problem. All of our victims went to those groups at least once a week, though only two were in the same and they were from the first and second killing. It was hard to find out and took me so long because; as I said those groups are anonymous. This means you finally have a connection. So…"

Again, for the second time, they were interrupted by Reid´s phone. After a couple of seconds he barged back into the room grabbing his back as fast as he could.

"Reid what the hell is going on?" Morgan asked him.

"I have to leave … now; I have to be back at home as fast as I can. I´m sorry…" and with that he turned around and ran towards the elevator to leave.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi guys :)

Thank you so much for your great reviews and by the way also for the favourite alerts. I have to say, I haven´t seen a single Criminal Minds episode from the new season, though I know that there´s someone for Reid. But I wanted to see the episodes on TV without knowing all of it and where I live, we have to wait far too long. So, it´s time for the secret to come out :) Hope you like it and reviews would be highly appreciated :)

xoxo

* * *

_Again, for the second time, they were interrupted by Reid´s phone. After a couple of seconds he barged back into the room grabbing his bag as fast as he could. _

"_Reid what the hell is going on?" Morgan asked him._

"_I have to leave … now; I have to be back at home as fast as I can. I´m sorry…" and with that he turned around and ran towards the elevator to leave._

* * *

The whole BAU-Team was confused, shocked and startled. They hadn´t had the slightest idea what has happened to Reid, nor what was still going on and made him act that way. And suddenly he was standing in front of them, telling them he had to go back home before he was running out of the room.

Morgan was the first to regain from the shock, jumping out of his seat to follow his younger colleague. Even though Reid had run out of the room first, Morgan was faster and reached the elevator first.

He jumped between the elevator and Reid, preventing him from stepping in. He crossed his arms in front of his body as if to show him, how serious he was. During that, the rest of the team had already followed their colleagues to see what was going on.

"Morgan step out of my way I need to go back home!" Reid demanded trying to control his voice.

"Reid what is going on with you, we are in the middle of a case you can´t just step out from the team with no explanation…!"

"I know this is hard to understand but I have to go … now. So step away …!" This time he wasn´t able to keep control.

"Reid, what is going on with you?" Rossi threw in, not being able to hold back.

"I can´t explain it to you guys right now … I´m sorry, but I have to go …"

"You can´t just go away in the middle of a case without telling us anything …" Hotch told him.

"Spence, at least tell us what you are going through…" JJ tried to smooth the situation.

"Reid we all know something is wrong, maybe we could help you …" Emily agreed.

Suddenly, Reid turned around, facing his team. He saw five faces full of concern and worry and somehow he also felt as if there was hurt shown in their faces… and he knew it wasn´t right how he had treated them … how he had treated his family. They actually wanted to be there for him, wanted to help him. And all he had done was to shut them out and hurt them.

But how could he tell them about it, how could he tell what he had been hiding for so long. He had known from the beginning, that there might have been a chance that if he had told them, they would actually have been able to help him with it.

But he had gotten scared, scared about Anna, scared about the team. He thought hiding it would be the ideal idea to prevent them from getting into danger.

And as much as he knew it sounded weird, that six FBI-agents would have gotten hurt by one single man, he couldn´t risk it. They were the only people beside his mother and Anna he actually cared about and considered as family.

The team was family, the team was friends. And if he had the chance to do so, he would keep any danger and threat as far from them as possible.

So he simply hid a huge part of his past just as much as some of the present, for the best of everyone. For two years, he had been really, really happy. Sure, his childhood had been bad and so were his college years, because he never thought he would fit in, he always felt out of place. But Anna had always made it better. Whenever she had visited him, she made him smile. When he came to the BAU he finally found a place that was right for him, but he had missed Anna during that time more than ever and whenever she made the time to visit him, he was full of joy.

And when she came back to him, after all she had gone through, when they were finally able to be together, he was happy ... truly and utterly happy. But then, all of it had changed. His world turned upside down and his heart broke into a million pieces when he heard what had happened.

And now, there was his team in front of him, wanting him to tell everything. And suddenly, he couldn´t keep it together anymore, it was all too much. He had kept his emotions to himself far too long, he couldn´t do it anymore … he had to let it out.

"Don't you think I want to tell you?! You want to help me but I don´t want you in danger! Of course I want you to know, I want to tell you all of it but I simply can´t, even though it would be so much easier. I want your help, I need your help because it has all become too much. I don´t know what to do anymore …!"

"I want to protect Anna just as much as I want to protect you but I´m obviously not even in the state to keep her safe! This is all my fault, it´s my fault she got hurt, it´s my fault she is in that state and now I might not even be able to get her back. I might have lost her forever. And all I can do is to wait for her to wake up and maybe she never will. So what do I do? I go on a case with you in the hope that she will at least be safe for now and then he gets to her again. So if I´m not even able to safe her, how should I safe anyone else?" Reid had screamed while he began to speak but his voice had gotten quieter and quieter.

All of his colleagues were looking at him in shock. The same questions were floating through everyone´s mind, but JJ was the only one to ask him while everyone looked at him in concern.

"Spence, who are you talking about. Who is Anna and why is she in danger, why would we be in danger? And why is it your fault? What are you talking about the state she´s in and why is there a chance that she might not wake up? Please just tell us, we can and we will be there for you we are your family. Who is Anna?"

"Anna … Anna is the most beautiful, intelligent and amazing woman." Reid whispered.

"She is the one that keeps me sane and has always been there for me, even in the worst situations. She is my oldest friend, we´ve known each other for so long … She´s ... she´s my fiancée … and she´s in coma …"

* * *

Hi again … I´ve got to say Rebecca1 figured it out :)


	5. Chapter 5

Hi guys :)

Thank you so much for your great reviews you guys are really supportive. So the secret has been spilled and in this chapter, you´ll get to know more about Anna and her history with Spencer and they will come further with their case :) Hope you like it and reviews would be highly appreciated :) And I finally saw the new episodes yeii

Xoxo

* * *

"_Anna … Anna is the most beautiful, intelligent and amazing woman. She is the one that keeps me sane and has always been there for me, even in the worst situations. She is my oldest friend, we´ve known each other for so long … She´s my fiancée … and she´s in coma …"_

* * *

The team stayed in silence, their heads full with concern, confusion and worry, but also some hurt because their youngest member never told them he was having someone in his live, not even thinking he would hide going to get married. Whenever they asked him, he always said he was still alone.

Though they did realize, that he, in fact, had changed, they never actually thought it has happened because of a specific reason, or even because of a specific person. Of course, everyone has secrets, some like to share more, some want to keep everything to themselves. But an engagement? They wanted an answer and Reid knew he had to give one to them. Slowly, every team-member regained their straight, focusing on the young genius, waiting for his explanation.

"I know … I know I should have told you, but back then, I thought it would have been easier to simply hide it. Never had I thought it would turn out that way … Our story is far too long and needs a lot of explanation I actually want to share with you guys, because you are my family. But right now, Anna needs me. Please … please finish this case without me and let me be there for her, I swear, I´ll explain it all to you." He looked at Hotch, hope in his eyes for getting the answer he wanted.

Their team-leader, keeping his poker face up as he always did, nodded slowly. "I want it all explained, but if you have to, be there for her."

Reid thanked him silently with a nod, before turning around to leave. Though he turned around again before saying: "You know, before I got the call, I guess I found something. Check the support groups for regular members. In my opinion, those three apes are standing for him, not having a free will. Maybe even from his childhood…" And with that he turned around and left.

Morgan wasted no time, calling Garcia to check on that information, they had just gotten.

"Well, you´ll love me. I found out that there is one guy, regularly visiting ever of those groups from which the victims were. His name is Michael Greenwald … Just a minute … When he was about 14 years old, child service took him from his mother who had, how it seemed, had beaten him for years because of her alcohol addiction. He studied … oh … Chinese culture … that would explain the statues … his address is on your phone. Go get him"

* * *

In less than twenty minutes, the BAU-Team, with the help of the local police, was gathered around the UnSubs house. Hotch and Morgan went in first, quickly scanning the area. Suddenly, they heard screaming from the cellar. As fast as they could, they ran to where the screams were coming from. Breaking down the door, Morgan entered the cellar first, with his team quickly followed. Inside, they found their UnSub, holding a knife, standing in front of a row with three chairs, three women, the type the same as their other victims, tied to them.

"Michael Greenwald, FBI, get away from them."

"I – I can´t, what they did was wrong. They were addicts, it is wrong. I´m sorry but they have to be punished. She always told me, mother told me that I had heard nothing, saw nothing and wouldn´t say something. She said so, I have to do it…" with that he pointed the gun onto one of the women, ready to pull the trigger, before a shot fell. Though it was not meant for the women, it was meant for him.

* * *

A couple of hours later, the team was back on their jet. Though this time, they weren´t discussing the last case, this time it was about Reid. Suddenly, Garcia appeared on the laptop screen, looking confused at the gathered team.

"Ok, would you mind telling me, why Reid called me earlier today, telling me to buy him a ticket for a flight home, without any explanation. I mean … what? Why? What?"

"Baby girl, this is probably hard to understand, but you do know that he has been acting weird right? Well earlier, he suddenly told us he had to go and after we wouldn´t let him, he told us that … and don´t freak out now … he has a fiancée and she´s in coma" Morgan explained, though he rushed the last part as much as he could. The reaction he got was a jaw that had dropped followed by more than just one 'oh my god'.

"Why didn´t he tell us … me … I mean … I just don´t get it ... what has happened and … and …"

"Garcia, none of us knew, he told us he would explain it all once we were home" JJ stated.

"Do you think he´s in the hospital with her?" Rossi asked.

"Yes, else he wouldn´t have said so." Hotch answered.

"Guys, I don´t know how about you. But we´ve got to be there for the kid, not matter what" Morgan threw in.

"He´s right, maybe we should after all go to him. He needs us … all of us" Emily said.

"Garcia, could you meet us at the nearest hospital around where Reid lives? I´m pretty sure he´s there all right" and with those words from Hotch, everyone dug into his own little world, remaining in silence until the jet landed.

* * *

They met Garcia at the hospital entrance, making their way over to the nurse station, asking if they knew, where Spencer Reid´s fiancée´s room was.

"Are you his family? I´m sorry but we are not allowed to let anyone into this room except for Dr. Reid and her sister. Though I could ask him alright?" The nurse said still unsure and disappeared down the hall. Minutes later she came back, nodding at the team, saying she was in room 2554. They thanked the woman and made their way over to the named room.

Hotch knocked slightly at the door before opening it. On the hospital bed was a young woman, hooked up with many machines. She didn´t look older than 30 and had brown hair. Reid was sitting in a chair next to her bed, holding her hand. He looked up at his team, attempting to make a small smile.

"Come in … guys, this is my fiancée, Anna Morrison." They had never seen their youngest member as vulnerable and sad looking as in that moment. They entered the room, still absorbing the picture in front of them.

"I know you´re not happy with me right now, though I guess you solved the case, but I had to be here. I promised to explain it all, I might as well do that just now" while he talked, he didn´t let go of her hand.

"Spence … I´m so sorry" and with that JJ went to give him a small hug trying to comfort him at least a bit.

"Thanks' JJ …Do me a favour and take a seat, this story is really long, but I want to tell you ... all of it" while he spoke, they all went around the room to find a comfortable place to stay.

"Well, how should I start … Anna and I … we basically grew up together. She lived a couple houses down the street and we played together as kids. During my school time, she was pretty much the only friend I had. Though she was never in my year, often not even in the same school as I was, she was always there for me." Before continuing, he looked up at her with a small smile.

"We were always together, she even helped me with my mom. When I went to college, we stayed in touch just as much, at least until I got an offer for the BAU. A couple of weeks before my acceptance, she met him …"

He paused in the middle of the sentence, not continuing.

"Reid, who are you talking about … who is he?" Morgan asked. Reid looked at them, his eyes showing nothing but hurt and sadness.

"He … he was her last boyfriend … he´s the one responsible for all of this … Responsible for what has happened to her …"


	6. Chapter 6

Hi guys :)

Thank you for your reviews you guys are really supportive. So the secret has been spilled and you´ll find out a lot about Reid´s past that I made up :) Finally got to see new CM episodes I love them :) anyway … Hope you like it and reviews would be highly appreciated :)

Xoxo

Warnings: Mentioning of abusive relationship

* * *

"_Reid, who are you talking about … who is he?" Morgan asked. Reid looked at them, his eyes showing nothing but hurt and sadness._

"_He … he was her last boyfriend … he´s the one responsible for all of this … Responsible for what has happened to her …"_

* * *

"You guys have to know, Anna … she was partly the only thing to keep me sane.. I never had anyone besides her after I committed my mother to Bennington, I was pretty much on my own, my father had left us long before and I didn´t have any friends …" Reid started to explain.

"She was somehow always there and after I was accepted to the BAU, the first thing was of course to tell her about it and when I went back to Las Vegas to meet her, she was so happy to see me but I knew something had changed about her, though but I couldn´t point it back then … After a while she told me that she had met someone and that she thought he was special and really could be the one for her … You know, I always loved her, but until then, I didn´t know how strong my feelings for her really were. In my mind, I had lost my chance because I was too blind to see it and I thought, I should keep my feelings to myself because I wanted her to be happy and I thought as long as he could give that to her, I should let them be …"

"But obviously that didn´t end as you thought it would", Morgan pointed out.

"No, not anyhow near that. Well, I started working for the BAU, trying to cover my mind with work and I was actually so preoccupied at the beginning, that I was able to pull my mind away from her at least for a while…"

"So you stopped talking to her?" Emily asked.

"At the beginning, but I wasn´t able to continue that way. It took me a while to accept it but at that point I thought, even if she wouldn´t love me the way I did, at least I would have her as a friend. So after I had built up the courage to meet her again, a couple of months had already passed and I went to Vegas to see her. At first, she was angry at me for not calling her, but we were never exactly good at staying mad at each other, so she forgave me and we built up our friendship again"

"And what about the feelings you had for her?" JJ asked.

"I pushed them away as much as I could and was simply happy to have my best friend back. Well, we started to regularly visit each other again. She often talked about her relationship and how well everything was and I tried to ignore the jealousy that came up in me. And then, when the thing with Tobias Hankel had happened, she let me talk to her about all of it and was simply there for me. She helped me … with everything" his voice got quiet during the last sentence and every team member knew what he was referring towards.

"Well, somehow, I never got to meet her boyfriend, though I didn´t exactly wanted to, she never let me. She always used excuses why he wasn´t at home when I was in Vegas. And of course, after a while I got suspicious and asked her about it and it wasn´t rare that she snapped at me which she had never been doing."

"We have once been fighting over it, because I told her, that I wanted the truth to understand her actions and she simply yelled at me, telling me it wouldn´t be any of my business, which led to two months without talking to each other until I apologized and she told me that she had reasons but that she wanted me to stay away from it."

"Did you?" Hotch asked.

"Of course not. I knew she was hiding something, if you know someone for you entire life, it´s hard not to see those things and she was always bad at keeping something to herself."

"So what happened?" Rossi wanted to know, just as much as everyone else did.

"Ahm … ok … well the two of us has been together for two years and 5 months now. And about three years ago, that was one year after that big argument, we had a couple of weeks off, which I didn´t know, else I would have told her, that I wanted to come for a visit. But either way, I decided to simply make it a surprise and since her birthday had been four days earlier I thought 'why not'. So when I arrived at her house, I heard shouting from the inside. First I thought that they might have been having an argument and I even considered leaving, but then, I heard something as if … well as if glass or something like that had been broken. So I got worried and decided to show them, I was there. Well … the door opened and he was looking at me as if I was someone from another planet, I mean he had never met me, so of course he had no idea who the man in front of him was.

"What happened then?" Garcia interrupted.

"He asked, who I was and what I wanted. I told him, that I was Anna´s friend and wanted to know if she was at home. He was already trying to shut the door, telling me she wasn´t there, but I wouldn´t let him. So I shoved him out of the way and went in and … I still remember that picture clearly…" Reid didn´t continue, obviously struggling, with the continuation of his story.

"Kid, you can tell us" Morgan told him.

"Anna … Anna was lying on the floor, there were large pieces of glass around and on her body, her arms, her face … there was so much blood and … and …" Again, the young profiler lost his words, waiting before he told further.

"You guys know what had happened, right ... I mean … I can´t … well I rushed towards her to see if she was still conscious and when I looked back up to scream at him, he was gone. But in that moment I couldn´t care less, I simply picked her up and got her to the next hospital available. I still remember that, when she woke up again, she first told me how sorry she was, but that she was scared of what he would do to her or to her sister and the reason she never wanted me to meet him was, that she was afraid he would harm me. As it seemed, he had been hitting her for two years … I never noticed … never."

"Spence, you can´t say it´s your fault it´s…" JJ started, but Reid interrupted her.

"Yes it is, we deal with that kind of things every day and I didn´t see it, that wassn´t not right, so yes it is my entire fault. I should have been the one to protect her, I´m in the FBI and didn´t notice that my best friend was in an abusive relationship … Anyway, when she woke up, I told her, no I promised her, I wouldn´t let him hurt her again. Never. Anna doesn´t have any family besides her sister, Laura and she moved to Virginia even before I did. So I told Anna to come with me, she moved into my apartment, found a job in the local kindergarten and even told her sister about it, they are really close again. I tried to help her as much as I could, it took a long time for her and she´s still not completely over everything that has happened to her and I know she probably never will, but she made so much progress and I couldn´t help but think that I played an important role during that way."

"And about the two of you?" Garcia asked.

"Well, seven months after all of that, she asked me out of the blue, why we didn´t have any contact ten years ago, you know when she met him. I have never been so scared in my entire life but I thought I couldn´t hold it together anymore, so I told her that I wasn´t able to stand it. She asked what I meant and I … I don´t know why it happened in that exact moment, it simply did, I told her that it was because I couldn´t stand the idea of her being with someone else and before she could even reply I told her that I knew I probably shouldn´t feel like that, but either way I told her that I loved her."

"What I didn´t expect was the way she replied to it." A small smile made its way over Reid´s face and everyone noticed that.

"She simply kissed me and told me she thought I would never admit it. And that she loved me too." But as soon as he looked to his right to see Anna, the smile disappeared and he absently began stroking her hand.

"But Reid, why did you never go to the police" Hotch asked.

"Because he shouldn´t have been able to hurt her again" Reid answered.

"And why is that?" Morgan asked.

"Because we thought he was dead…"


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi guys :) **

**Thank you for your reviews and also for the favourite alerts. So, you´ll learn once more about Anna and Reid´s. Hope you like it and reviews would be great :)**

**Sorry if I got some things about Stockholm Syndrome wrong, I´m not a psychologist, that´s what Google says**

Xoxo

* * *

"_But Reid, why did you never go to the police" Hotch asked._

"_Because he shouldn´t have been able to hurt her again" Reid answered._

"_And why is that?" Morgan asked._

"_Because we thought he was dead…"_

* * *

"I don´t get it, now I´m out, why did you think he had died?" Morgan asked.

"Well, of course I went to the police after I had committed Anna to the hospital. I mean, even though I didn´t know where that man was, I still wanted to catch him to get revenge for what he had done to her." Reid squeezed Anna´s hand and took a brief moment to look at her, letting a small sad smile play on his lips at the sight of his girlfriend, but it soon disappeared as he had to continue with his story.

"The problem was, that I didn´t know anything about that man and neither did anyone else, except for Anna. And she was unconscious for two days after all of it had happened. On the other hand I also refused to leave her side until she would have woken up…"at that statement, Garcia let a small sympathetic smile show for the young couple.

"So, we had no idea with who we were dealing, I didn´t even know his name. And I told the police officers to talk to her friends, apparently that monster had done more damage than I thought at that time. Anna never had many friends but she had a few, she really trusted. Apparently, he isolated her from everyone around her, friends, family, he even made her quit her job. I was the only exception. It was normal for us, that she came to Virginia twice a year, but how I later found out, she always had to pay for that…"

"What do you mean?" JJ asked.

"She simply disappeared for three days, she never stayed longer. And whenever she did that and then came home, he beat her worse than ever. I think she was way too scared about the people she loved and that´s why she never told me. She had been in that relationship for ten years, he was her first real boyfriend and was used to it. Until I found out, she never considered leaving him…"

"Stockholm Syndrome" Prentiss mumbled.

"In a way yes, but on the other hand she once said that she had known all along that it was wrong, but she was way too scared to ask for help. Did you know that statistically, 27 % of people that were held as a hostage show signs for Stockholm Syndrome?" Reid mumbled the last part quietly. Everyone let out a small smile, that being the first statistic in a week he told them, for someone who normally spouted them out like an encyclopaedia.

"Anyway, I only found out a couple of months ago, how she managed to let me visit her, which was quite often, at least 4 times a year. Anna used to tell him, that one of her co-workers noticed the bruises and contacted someone like a social worker, who came to visit a couple of times a year. I never stayed longer than two days either so she had it all thought through. Apparently, he believed her and whenever she told him, that that 'social worker', who was me, was visiting, he went out for the night to drink."

"I still don´t get all of that, why he believed her, why he never questioned that, I have no idea. But the most horrible thing is, that I never noticed. Whenever she was with me, she seemed different than I knew her; I should have noticed the signs. Though she did a pretty good job hiding all of it, it´s still my job to stop people like him and I´ll never stop feeling guilty for not noticing and protecting her. Though, she told me three years ago, that she would never blame me. Anna once said, that their relationship wasn´t abusive from the beginning, but the last five years or so were. He always told her, that if she ever contacted the police or her friends or ever her own sister, then he would find them and kill them, one by one."

Reid paused for a brief second before he continued.

"Well, after I found out, it was three days later; the police had found him near a bridge, completely drunk. He jumped and everyone was sure, that he shouldn´t have had a chance to survive. When Anna heard, that he jumped down a bridge, she got a lot more confident. I needed a while to convince her, but she eventually came with me. Of course, it wasn´t easy. It took more than half a year so she could sleep without nightmares. And even though I tell her as often as I can that I love her, she sometimes still thinks, she doesn´t deserve to be loved. Anna still goes to therapy and sometime has those breakdowns, but we always come through."

Again, Reid lifted his gaze from his friends up to Anna and tucked a small strand of hair behind her ear.

"You know, the way you talk about her, the way you look at her … You really love her, we can tell" Garcia said.

"I really do and even though it was hard at the beginning, we managed to still have somewhat like a happy life together. But a couple of months ago, Anna started to receive gifts at the beginning it were simple flowers and we didn´t think much of it. But the presents got more expensive, like jewellery. And a month ago, those calls started. Someone would call her and then there was nothing but silence. She got scared and so did I, truth to be told. Anna changed her phone number countless times, she died her hair and we wanted to move into a new apartment next month. We contacted the police but she had no idea, who could be responsible for all of that. After all, that monster was supposed to be dead."

"Reid … How did she … I mean what happened to her?" Rossi asked.

"I know all of you have noticed the way I behaved during that case. It happened that Friday before I came to work. Ahm … I went home and saw that the door to our apartment was opened. I found … I found her in the kitchen on the floor. S-She had been s-stapped and … and I rushed towards her and tried to put pressure on the wound and called an ambulance … I thought she – she had d-died … I thought I had lost her…"

The young profiler´s eyes were slightly watered when he told them about that night. He still remembered seeing her, feeling frozen for the slightest bit of a second. In his mind, the worst scenario hadn´t been as bad as it was in reality. Fearing to lose her again. Fearing to lose a part of himself.

He closed his eyes, trying to get the images of Anna, lying unconscious in a pool of her own blood, out of his head. JJ reached over and squeezed his hand, showing him support.

"I know that it has been him, because before the ambulance came, she opened her eyes to look at me and said 'It was him, he´s not dead' and … well she told me that she was sorry and loved me before she broke down completely…"

"Reid why didn´t you tell us?" Hotch asked the young profiler.

"I had no idea how to deal with it all, I mean how should we hunt someone who´s a ghost. I know I make no sense right now but I was actually scared what he could do to you and to her. He was supposed to be dead. We thought he was. And again I wasn´t there to protect Anna … it´s my fault all of that happened. And I know I probably have no right to ask that, because I hid it all from you, but please … please help me."

"Reid, if that man is messing with your family, he´s messing with us. From now on, this is a BAU case, we´ll help you find him."


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi guys :) **

**Thank you for your reviews and also for the favourite alerts. I´m really, really sorry for the late update but sometimes life really sucks and keeps you from everything else. I want to thank you for sticking with the story and I hope you like it**

**Xoxo**

* * *

_"__I had n_o idea how to deal with it all, I mean how should we hunt someone who´s a ghost. I know I make no sense right now but I was actually scared what he could do to you and to her. He was supposed to be dead. We thought he was. And again I wasn´t there to protect Anna … it´s my fault all of that happened. And I know I probably have no right to ask that, because I hid it all from you, but please … please help me."

"_Reid, if that man is messing with your family, he´s messing with us. From now on, this is a BAU case, we´ll help you find him."_

* * *

The team members of the BAU left Anna´s hospital room soon after Reid had told them his story. It was unbelievable for all of them, that he was able to hide a relationship for such a long time. More even, that none of them even had the slightest clue.

Morgan could hit himself for the countless times in the last years, he had told Reid to get a girlfriend and those times he had tried to set him up.

Hotch couldn´t believe how he had managed to always go on cases with them and still be there for his loved one.

Rossi, Prentiss and Garcia didn´t understand that he hadn´t told them from the beginning and that they never found out about it.

The only one who didn´t try to understand Reid´s actions was JJ, because she already did. She knew better than anyone else what it was like to want to hide a relationship. She had done it herself, though under completely different circumstances.

All of them were standing on the hospital corridor, still trying to let all of it sink in and to understand what that situation meant. How ?… that was the question everyone had in his head. But there was so much more anger than disappointment, more than hurt because Reid didn´t tell them … there was this anger because someone wanted to hurt a member of their team … a member of their family.

It was clear how much Reid cared about Anna, how scared he was to lose her and even though everyone would have liked to know from the beginning, they understood him the more they thought about this situation. The only thing clear right then was that they had to help Reid. He couldn´t do it on his own and they wouldn´t let him.

"Guys, I know this is a lot to take in right now, but he needs our help. Garcia, Morgan, Prentiss, Dave, I want all of you back at the bureau. Garcia, dig as deep as possible, we need information about this guy. Prentiss I want you to look through older files to see if he has a connection to any of them. Morgan I want you to interview Anna´s sister to see how much she knows about him. Dave you and I are going to order a personal security officer for her room and JJ I want you to stay with Reid. We need to find out more about this guy and about Anna … And be there for him. Now let´s go…"

And with that everyone took off to their ordered work. Garcia was working nonstop on finding something out about the man named "Jeff Breakson", the name they had gotten from Reid, though he wasn´t sure if that was even his right name. And he had been right with thinking, that Anna´s ex was a ghost, he really was. She found no records at all, not even credit card bills.

The only thing they were hoping for, was Anna waking up. She would know more than anyone else about that man, she would know about his behaviour and how he had gone through life. And of course, after he had faked his death, he would have changed his name, maybe even changed his look, what made it all more difficult to find him.

Garcia was really getting frustrated, how should she find anything if there was nothing?

* * *

Meanwhile, Morgan was trying to find out something through Anna´s sister Michelle.

"Michelle are you sure you don´t know anything about him?" Morgan asked for what seemed like the thousand time and he wasn´t getting anywhere. How could this man have isolated Reid´s fiancée so much, that not even her sister knew anything?

"Well, my sister and I didn´t have a lot of contact since I moved here a long time ago. I never met this horrible person who hurt my sister, all I´ve ever got was his name and that was Jeff. I always wanted to meet him when Anna told me about her relationship but then she always found excuses, now I know why. Once, it was years ago, I kind of pushed it too far. I went to visit Anna and didn´t tell her before. She opened the door to close it right afterwards. I had no idea why, but she yelled at me why I came there and that she wanted me to leave." She took a sip of water before continuing.

"I found it strange and as stupid as I was, I yelled back at her, that was when we lost contact, though I´m sure Spencer has told you about it." Morgan nodded silently.

"You know the only thing I can think of right now is, how stupid I´ve been to let something like that happen to my little sister. I was responsible for her, why didn´t I see it? Why couldn´t I help her? It´s all my fault…" and with that she broke down in tears.

"It wasn´t your fault you know that, just as much as it wasn´t Rei-Spencers. He too thinks, that it was his fault but it wasn´t…"

"If it was everyone´s fault but not Spencers, Michelle told Morgan. He was the one to help her out of it all, to get back in contact with her family, to enjoy life again … to find love again. He´s a good man and he told me about the people that work with him and that they are the best and also his family…" Morgan smiled slightly at his friends' description of their team.

"I just want to ask you for one thing … Please find this guy … please … for Anna." Morgan promised Anna´s sister to do so and left afterwards to go back to the bureau.

* * *

During that, JJ was still at the hospital with Reid, trying to comfort him, though she knew he wouldn´t be alright, as long as Anna wasn´t awake. Hotch had ordered a police man to stay for 24 hours, though Reid too refused to leave her side.

He was absently stroking his thumb over his fiancées hand while JJ started to speak.

"Spence ... can I ask you something … Why did you come on that case with us, why didn´t you stay here?"

Reid took a deep breath before answering. "I honestly have no idea and I wished I wouldn´t have but it´s statistically proved, that people do irrational things if they are in stress situations."

"You know, I´ve been calling her sister every day to see if something has changed … I just want her to wake up JJ, that´s all I´m asking for. She´s been through so much, why can´t we just be happy why do their always have to be bumps in our road?"

JJ wished she could answer her friend's question, but honestly she couldn´t. Every team member saw horrible things on a daily basis and they never got used to it but it got so much worse if someone they loved was in pain.

"I don´t know Spence … I really don´t know. But we´ll find him alright, I promise you we´ll find the one that did that to her…" But Reid didn´t look up at her, he simply continued to look at Anna. Her next words were, what made him look at her "She´ll wake up … I´m sure she will, she wouldn´t leave you, not after all she and the two of you have been through. She´s a fighter, she´ll wake up…" Reid said a silent 'thank you' while a single tear rolled down his cheek…

* * *

The team was slowly growing more and more frustrated, how could someone simply disappear like that. They had gotten a description of Breakson´s face from Reid, but where should they start to search if there were no information's about him.

Hotch was going through the profile with Rossi, when his phone rang. He picked up the phone immediately, as he saw the caller ID.

"Yes Reid?" Hotch asked the young agent.

"H-Hotch … "He heard that the voice of his agent was different, but not full of desperate and hurt, it was something else, something he hasn´t heard in his voice for days.

"She´s awake … Anna is awake…"


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi guys :) **

**Thank you for your reviews again and for the alerts. Anna woke up so yeii for that, though there will be enough drama to look forward to come so again yeii :) Hope you like it and reviews would be great and this chapter is a little longer than the others but what should I say, I´m a hopeless romantic and I love to write chapters like these**

**Xoxo**

* * *

_Hotch was going through the profile with Rossi, when his phone rang. He picked up the phone immediately, as he saw the caller ID._

"_Yes Reid?" Hotch asked the young agent._

"_H-Hotch … "He heard that the voice of his agent was different, but not full of desperate and hurt, it was something else, something he hasn´t heard in his voice for days._

"_She´s awake … Anna is awake…"_

* * *

_Earlier, JJ´s POV_

JJ left her the hospital room to get herself and Reid something to drink. She had never seen him this way … never. And she has seen him in his worst times, during and after the 'Hankel case', during his addiction everyone knew about and none but Gideon was able to talk to him about and she has seen him after Emily´s "death".

And it was then, when JJ realised how much her friend has truly gone through and what he has seen in his young life, but every time during those horrible hours, she was sure that he would be able to come through, to make it out again … but she wasn´t so sure this time.

For Spencer, losing his fiancée meant, to lose the one person that he had known since his childhood, to lose someone who had accompanied him throughout his life and to lose his true love. She was able to see the love he had for her, but not just in his actions, she saw it in his eyes as well.

But for her, it was unclear how much more he could take. And she was sure, that losing Anna was something, he would probably never be able to overcome, something that would throw him back into his addiction or into something even worse, no matter how much they would want to help him.

JJ realized, that the BAU-Team was in fact a family, but Anna has been Spencer´s family as well. And she wanted Reid to be happy so badly, she wanted him to be able to have a family of his own, to have someone to grow old with and to simply have someone to love in his life … and he had already found someone, he would be able to share all those things with.

Nerveless she didn´t understand, how life could be so cruel to someone she considered family. She started to feel anger, how could someone go through so many bad things in a row and then find someone who brought him true happiness, just so that it could be ripped away from him again. It wasn´t fair, neither for Spencer nor for Anna, who had been through so much as well. And maybe it was the reason that they were so perfect to each other, the fact that both of them had been at the end and came back, because of the other one. She had to wake up, that wasn´t a wish for JJ anymore, it was something she was sure of.

* * *

_Earlier, Reid´s POV_

Reid was still holding Anna´s hand as it was the only thing that mattered, but what exactly did matter anymore? As much as he wanted to do something, he couldn´t. He would have to start to believe in fate, there wasn´t anything else. He had always been someone, who could only think rational, there was always an explanation, whether he liked it or not, but there was always one. But this time, he couldn´t think logical, for the first time in his life he didn´t understand something.

How … How could someone be so horrible, how could someone do so many bad things to someone as precious as Anna was, he would never get it. This Jeff, his stomach already churning while thinking of this monster, had treated the love of his life in the worst ways. He beat her, he hurt her physically and mentally and never saw how amazing she really was.

While he himself had been thankful every day, to be able to have her in his life, when they weren´t together as much as when they were. For him, she was everything and he had made sure to show her just that every single day. He would always beat himself for not realizing it all sooner, but he had at least been trying to show her how much he loved her from then on.

All he wished, more than anything else, even more than being able to find Breakson, was to see her waking up. To be finally able to hold her again, to look into her beautiful eyes and to tell her that he loved her. That was the only thing he wished for, the only thing he could think of.

Again, he stroked his thumb over the back of her hand as he had caught himself doing so often since she fell into coma. Why couldn´t it all be easy, why couldn´t life be easy on them at least once, why did there always have to be walls that kept him from being with her. The tears were threatening to fall again as he started to speak, still holding onto her hand.

"Come on Anna, I need you to wake up, do you hear me. I can´t life without you and you know that, because you are my everything, you are all I could´ve ever asked for. I promised you that I would always love you, that I would never leave you and you promised me the same. Come on, you can´t leave me, you need to come back. I love you so much …"

Suddenly, he felt something, something like a light squeeze against his hands, something he had wished and prayed for, more than he had for anything else. He was so taken aback that he froze for the slightest time of a second, before he realized what just had happened.

"Anna … Anna can you hear me, Anna if you hear me please …" And that was when he felt it again, a squeeze at his hand, this time a little bit stronger than before, and then there was the whisper, the whisper of the voice he had been longing to hear again and that he had missed so much.

"Spencer…" It was nearly inaudible, but it was enough for him, it was enough the let out the tears that he had tried so hard to keep in, enough to let all of his emotions out and to allow himself to realize, that she was with him, she was back.

"Anna…" she opened her eyes slightly, finally looking at him, both of them having wanted nothing more than to be with each other again. He couldn´t say anything, it was too much. He pressed his lips to her forehead, the tears freely flowing down his faces as he pressed his forehead against hers as he broke the kiss, both of them smiling at each other through their tears.

"I thought I had lost you…" he whispered, before his lips found hers again. There were so many things he felt at once, just as much as she did … happiness … relief … joy. She was back with him, he was finally able to look into her eyes, to hear her voice again, to see her smile and to feel her lips against his. That was all he had wanted.

"So did I … I love you" Anna whispered as they broke from the kiss, before he replied in the same whisper "I love you too …" They smiled at each other, while he took her face into his hands and used his thumbs to brush away the tears that she had shed. They stayed like that for a long time, neither of them knew, if it where seconds, minutes or even hours, but it didn´t matter as long as they were able to stay with each other.

"I missed you so much" he told her, while he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and she slowly nodded at him, showing him that she hadn´t felt any different, before they embraced each other into a tight hug.

Suddenly, they heard a gasp behind them and turned around to see JJ standing in the doorway, having tears in her eyes and a smile on her lips. Neither knew what to say until JJ found her voice again and made her way over to the young couple.

"Hi … I´m JJ and I ... I … God I´m so happy you woke up…" she rushed the words out and made him and Anna chuckle. "Hi, I´m Anna" and while he stood up slowly, not really wanting to leave, JJ surprised all of them, even herself, with giving Anna a tight hug.

"Well, I should … probably get a doctor or something" JJ said, brushing her tears away with her sleeves and went to the door. Soon afterwards, a doctor and a nurse rushed in to check on Anna, though Spencer never left her side and she was thankful for that. During that, he decided that he had to call Hotch and let him know. After his call, Hotch had told him to wait, they would come to the hospital.

JJ told them, that she would wait outside for the team, so that they could have a couple of minutes to themselves. She smiled at them before leaving the room. Reid instantly sat down again and embraced his fiancée in a hug.

The team arrived soon afterwards, with Garcia, who didn´t want to miss the opportunity to get to know Anna.

"JJ, how is she?" Hotch asked immediately as he saw the tears that were still in his agents eyes. JJ simply smiled and nodded her head towards the room. Through the window, they were able to see the couple in a tight embrace, none needing to hear the answer as they saw both of them smiling.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi guys :) **

**Thank you for your reviews again and for the alerts. Well, back to the drama right away and I´ll probably continue this fic for another two or three chapters. I hope you like it, reviews would be great**

**Xoxo**

_JJ told them, that she would wait outside for the team, so that they could have a couple of minutes to themselves. She smiled at them before leaving the room. Reid instantly sat down again and embraced his fiancée in a hug._

_The team arrived soon afterwards, with Garcia, who didn´t want to miss the opportunity to get to know Anna. _

"_JJ, how is she?" Hotch asked immediately as he saw the tears that were still in his agents eyes. JJ simply smiled and nodded her head towards the room. Through the window, they were able to see the couple in a tight embrace, none needing to hear the answer as they saw both of them smiling. _

None wanted to disturbs them, nor invade their privacy, so the BAU-Team chose to wait until Reid would get them. And even though they didn´t have a lot of time to find Breakson, they didn´t want to interrupt the moment of the two of them finally being able to each other again. And truth to be told, they gave them as much time as they needed. Anna´s sister arrived soon afterwards, after being contacted by Morgan, but waited too until finally Reid came out of her room, tears still in his eyes but a giant smile on his face.

As soon as he saw Michelle, he took her into his arms and told her to go in, because Anna was already waiting for her. She didn´t have to be told twice and rushed into the room, embracing her sister in a tight hug.

Meanwhile, the team simply smiled at him, hoping it would give away how happy they were for their youngest member. Until Garcia couldn´t take it anymore and went to hug him tightly, nearly crushing him, telling him over and over again, how happy she was for him.

After a little while, Michelle told them, that Anna wanted to meet the team and they all went to get to know Reid´s fiancée, after a doctor had checked up on her. While everyone was trying to find place in the small room, Reid stood next to the bed and took Anna´s hand into his, kissing the top of her head, before he began to introduce every member.

"Guys, this is Anna and Anna these are Aaron Hotchner, David Rossi, Penelope Garcia, Emily Prentiss, Derek Morgan and you already know JJ." pointing onto every member as he said their names.

"Hi, I´m Anna, as … I´m sure you already … know. I´ve heard a … lot about you guys, it´s nice that we … can finally meet." She still had to take it slow, being clearly exhausted not just physically but also mentally.

"It´s nice to meet you Anna. How are you feeling?" Hotch asked, remaining to keep his stern look up.

"Fine … thanks Agent Hotchner" she replied with a slight smile.

"We´re so happy to finally meet you, oh, these are for you, my special recipe, you know …" Garcia spoke up, grinning widely while holding up a box filled with cookies, before handing them to Reid, while Anna thanked her with a smile.

"Listen, we don´t want to disturb any longer, we´re just going to come back tomorrow so you can rest. Would it be ok, to ask you some questions tomorrow? …" Hotch told his team, as to show them, that Anna was far too exhausted for any questioning and that they should let Reid and his fiancée some time for themselves. Everyone having understood what their team-leader meant, walked out the door, after saying their goodbyes.

While they were doing so, Anna bent down and whispered something to Reid, before he nodded with a smile and followed his team outside.

"Hey JJ … uhm … Anna asked if she could talk to you?" JJ was clearly surprised by the demand of Reid´s fiancée, though she walked back in.

"Hi … I-I´m sorry to bother … you I just … wanted to t-thank you for staying … with Spence while I was well … I´m grateful that he h-has … such great friends … even though he n-never told anyone about … us … You guys are really great and … he told me that … you stayed with him … throughout the w-whole time and … I just really want … to thank you f-for looking out … for him the way you did …"

JJ stepped forward to the bed and squeezed Anna´s hand gently, before she told her "Thank you Anna, I´m really happy Spence found someone like you. The last days have been rough on him and I can tell you, I´ve never, not in the whole years that I´ve been working with him, seen him as happy as he was when you woke up. So, I´m the one who has to be grateful. I´m going to let you rest now, after all, you should be fit soon. If it´s alright, I´ll be the one, asking you questions tomorrow."

JJ smiled at Anna, who immediately returned it before walking out the door to the rest of her team.

"Hey, everything alright?" Reid asked, noticing JJ´s slightly watered eyes and her wide smile.

"Spence, I´ve got to say you found yourself a wonderful woman. I´m really happy for the two of you…"

"Thank you JJ. And guys, I just really want to thank all of you once again, because of your help, we´ll hopefully catch this bastard and Anna will be safe, that´s all I´ve ever wanted her to be."

"Hey kid, that´s what we´re here for, right. But I´ve got to say, JJ is right, you´ve got yourself a wonderful lady, don´t you dare ever let her go" Morgan told him, jokingly wiggling his finger.

Reid really had to laugh at that "Don´t worry Morgan, I wouldn´t dream of it."

"Well, I would say we all head home, have a good night of sleep, except for Reid, who will probably stay here right?, Reid nodded in confirm, and tomorrow, we´ll find this guy." Rossi said to the team.

Everyone told Reid their goodbyes and best wishes to Anna and turned around to leave.

Suddenly, they heard Anna screaming from the top of her lungs for help and everyone sprinted inside the room…


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi guys :) **

**Thank you for your reviews and for the alerts. I know I have a side in me which simply loves cliffhangers and I realized that I ended every single chapter with one. Well, drama ahead and I´m sorry for not updating sooner, this is why this chapter was uploaded right after the last one. Anyway, I hope you like it**

**Xoxo**

* * *

"_Well, I would say we all head home, have a good night of sleep, except for Reid, who will probably stay here right?, Reid nodded in confirm, and tomorrow, we´ll find this guy." Rossi said to the team._

_Everyone told Reid their goodbyes and best wishes to Anna and turned around to leave._

_Suddenly, they heard Anna screaming from the top of her lungs for help and everyone sprinted inside the room…_

* * *

Reid didn´t have the slightest idea about what had just happened, all he heard was Anna screaming and he moved on autopilot. His legs were bringing him automatically to Anna´s room, not caring about anything else than for her. His friend, all having heard the scream too, were following him, their guns already in their hands, to whatever was happening.

As Reid pushed open the door to his fiancée´s room, he saw a picture he had sworn himself he would never see again. Jeff Breakson was holding Anna with one arm around her neck, his hand holding a knife closely to Anna´s neck. The window to her room was broken, the pieces of glass lying on the floor.

"Ah I see, your little friends finally decided to join us darling" Breakson said with an evil grin, his grip tightening around the young woman´s neck.

"Take your hands off of her you bastard" Reid yelled at him, not caring about trying to remain calm.

"Mr. Breakson let her go, you have no chance. All our guns are pointed right at you … you are not getting out of here. Let Anna go" Hotch tried to get through to him, remaining calm for everyone´s sake.

"Ah you see Agent Hotchner, I have no interest in my own life anymore. I would have to go to jail either way, so before I do that, why shouldn´t I do what I wanted to do for more than two years. You see, Anna, you´ll always come back to me right. Even after I beat you, you came crawling back, isn´t that right love" he slowly slid the knife to her throat, just enough to break the skin to get it to bleed.

"Anna! … I swear I´ll kill you myself if you won´t let her go" Reid yelled at his fiancée´s ex.

"You … you want to kill me. As far as I saw it, you were the one who wasn´t able to protect Anna in the first place, weren´t you. You wanted to be her best friend, though you never realized anything around you. How could you not see her bruises? Aren´t you an agent from the FBI and yet you were too blind to see what has happened. Do you want to deny that?"

"Reid don´t listen to him, he wants to provoke you" Prentiss whispered to Reid as she was standing next to him.

"Breakson, just let her go. It doesn´t have to end that way and you know it." Rossi demanded.

"Ah agent Rossi, how nice of you to join in. Well, you see, I´ve been waiting for this day to happen for a long time. After all, there´s a reason I know all your names, right Agent Morgan, Agent Jareau and Agent Prentiss. I know everything about your and your friend´s life Dr. Reid. Did you actually think I had died on that bridge? How dumb are you really? And here I thought Anna, you wanted to marry a genius, how wrong I was" a laugh erupted from his throat causing Anna to squirm.

"Would you please stand still darling. We don´t want that blade to make contact with your beautiful neck right, at least not right now. Well, back to the story. Oh yeah, how come none ever noticed me. I´ve never stopped watching Anna, I just waited for the right moment to get you. Dr. Reid you´re really doing a bad job in protecting her, you´ve got to admit that. First you don´t see her bruises, then she nearly bleeds out in your apartment and now this. See, it would have been better for you to stay with me" Anna didn´t look at him, not for one second. Her eyes were only looking into Reid´s while the tears were making their way down her cheeks.

"One last time Breakson, let her go" Morgan told him.

"Ah see, that´s exactly what I can´t do. And we all now Anna likes that, she just acts as if she doesn´t, she always has…"

"You sick bastard, the only reason she didn´t leave you was because you threatened her family and you know that."

"Ah ah ah … Dr. Reid, you´re not really polite. You should watch your mouth or else, precious Anna will have to pay the price for you…"

That´s when something inside of Reid snapped. He simply wanted Anna safe, that´s all he was concerned about. The day he had found her in Las Vegas in her house, he had sworn to himself that from then on, he would always protect her from whatever may come. And he had broken that promise, when Breakson managed to get into their apartment and nearly killed Anna.

And again, Reid had sworn to himself that would never happen again. He had seen a lot of sick and gruesome things in his FBI career, but seeing someone he loved and cared about deeply, lying in her own pool of blood, slowly bleeding to death, was something that would haunt him forever. And he couldn´t risk losing her. This time, he would keep his promise, he would make sure the love of his life was safe.

The idea suddenly came up in his mind, while this time JJ tried to talk to Breakson, but he simply laughed it off.

"You know, for FBI-agents, all of you don´t really know what to do. You can´t shoot me, because she is standing right in front of me and you wouldn´t risk losing her. You know darling, it´s a shame that you´re going to die. If you had simply stayed with me, you would have been save. But you had to run away and now, you´re going to pay for that. I really thought I had taught you how to behave, seems as if I´ve been wrong."

"I always wondered where you were going on those two day trips, but I never feared that you wouldn´t come back. After all, you always did. I can´t believe you were stupid enough to build yourself a new life, when you know that you clearly belong to me and not to that so called genius over there. I´ve always been watching, every single step of yours in the last two years. You should have known better, but you ran anyway, even after all I´ve done for you"

Reid couldn´t be any more disgusted by that man and he didn´t know he could feel so much hate, but in that very moment, he did. How dare he tell her, that he had done anything for her, all he did was to abuse her and make her life miserable.

Suddenly, he spoke up "You don´t want to kill her. Let me take her place, you´re angry at me for taking her away from you. Let Anna go, kill me and you´ll get what you wanted, revenge."

"No … Spence … no" Anna whispered.

"Interesting offer but I think I´ll pass. I think I would rather kill her after all. I never wanted it to go that way Anna, why did you run. You always loved me and you always will" he said stepping a little to the side to be able to press the knife more to her neck.

"So Anna, why don´t you tell them how much you really love me" Breakson´s grin never leaving his face.

"I … never loved … you. All I could f-feel … for you was … hate" Anna told him and suddenly, everything was a blur, all they could hear and see was a body falling to the floor…


End file.
